Synonyms of dresses

dresses 1 of 2

noun

plural of dress

1

as in gowns

a garment with a joined blouse and skirt usually worn by a woman or girl

what a lovely dress you're wearing today!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gowns
• jumpers
• frocks
• kimonos
• sundresses
• shirtwaists
• housedresses
• minidresses
• shirtdresses
• sheaths
• chemises
• kirtles
• muumuus
• tea gowns
• overdresses
• granny dresses
• sacks
• Mother Hubbards
• coatdresses
• shifts
• sweaterdresses

2

as in costumes

clothing chosen as appropriate for a specific situation

a bagpiper in full Scottish Highlander dress

Synonyms & Similar Words

• costumes
• clothes
• outfits
• attires
• garbs
• togs
• getups
• guises
• styles
• habiliments
• apparels
• duds
• raiments
• drags
• vestments
• modes
• fashions
• arrays
• caparisons

3

as in looks

the outward form of someone or something especially as indicative of a quality

another version of the Cinderella story but in modern-romance dress

Synonyms & Similar Words

• looks
• attitudes
• figures
• manners
• appearances
• presences
• demeanors
• garbs
• aspects
• regards
• persons
• shapes
• miens
• postures
• outsides
• behaviors
• poses
• bearings
• carriages
• airs
• colors
• stances
• features
• molds
• deportments
• complexions
• poises
• comportments
• faces
• colorings
• habits
• casts
• turns
• countenances
• habitus
• physiognomies
• visages
• superficies

dresses

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of dress

1

as in bandages

to cover with a bandage

first wash and then dress the wound

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bandages
• heals
• binds
• treats
• ministers (to)
• swathes
• doctors
• nurses
• attends
• remedies
• cares (for)
• medicates
• cures
• rehabilitates
• mends

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unbandages

2

as in decorates

to make more attractive by adding something that is beautiful or becoming

let's dress up the room with some greenery for the holiday party

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decorates
• adorns
• drapes
• trims
• ornaments
• decks
• garnishes
• festoons
• bedecks
• graces
• embellishes
• arrays
• paints
• beautifies
• embosses
• bedizens
• enriches
• dolls up
• caparisons
• emblazes
• blazons
• gussies up
• does
• accessorizes
• embroiders
• pretties (up)
• fancifies
• traps
• glitzes (up)
• does up
• flounces
• ribbons
• tricks (out)
• garlands
• smartens
• feathers
• braids
• frills
• furbelows
• brightens
• dresses up
• jewels
• wreathes
• fancies up
• diamonds
• figures
• appliqués
• fillets
• freshens
• swags
• laces
• fringes
• chases
• bosses
• gems
• pearls
• gilds
• hangs
• spruces (up)
• filigrees
• redecorates
• redoes
• impearls

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• scars
• disfigures
• mars
• spoils
• displays
• defaces
• strips
• reveals
• simplifies
• streamlines
• blemishes
• exposes
• denudes
• uncovers
• bares
• dismantles
• divests
• uglifies

3

as in polishes

to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure

dress the granite block to be used as the headstone on all four sides

Synonyms & Similar Words

• polishes
• rubs
• coats
• smooths
• scrubs
• glosses
• shines
• furbishes
• scrapes
• burnishes
• sands
• buffs
• grinds
• finishes
• glazes
• smoothens
• bobs
• faces
• files
• varnishes
• lacquers
• slicks
• bones
• veneers
• sleeks
• brightens
• scours
• sandblasts
• japans
• sandpapers
• rasps
• laps

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ruffles
• roughens
• roughs (up)
• scuffs (up)

4

as in clothes

to outfit with clothes and especially fine or special clothes

dressed the young girl in satin and lace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clothes
• costumes
• attires
• gowns
• drapes
• garments
• wraps
• robes
• suits
• apparels
• garbs
• habits
• outfits
• decks (out)
• rigs (out)
• toilets
• jackets
• enrobes
• bedecks
• frocks
• arrays
• togs (up or out)
• caparisons
• vestures
• uniforms
• furnishes
• gets up
• dresses up
• cloaks
• mantles
• vests
• does up
• tailors
• invests
• swaddles
• equips
• huddles
• enswathes
• swathes
• dresses down
• habilitates
• underdresses
• haps
• bedights
• accoutres

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strips
• undresses
• disrobes
• unclothes
• disarrays
• uncovers
• unveils
• untrusses
• denudes
• divests
• undrapes

5

as in suits

to put on one's best or formal clothes

we don't usually dress for dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

• costumes
• clothes
• suits
• dresses up
• dolls up
• attires
• garments
• decks
• primps
• robes
• accessorizes
• preens
• apparels
• garbs
• prinks
• rigs (out)
• smartens (up)
• bedecks
• arrays
• togs (out or up)
• invests
• bedizens
• caparisons
• dudes (up)

6

as in grows

to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care

dress the beans by applying fertilizer once a week

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grows
• cultivates
• plants
• crops
• produces
• cultures
• tends
• promotes
• raises
• harvests
• rears
• breeds
• propagates
• roots
• sows
• gathers
• sprouts
• reaps
• ripens
• quickens
• gleans
• germinates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• kills
• picks
• pulls (up)
• digs
• cuts
• plucks
• mows
• extirpates
• uproots
• hays

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dresses

Noun

On a network where women once seemed to have a uniform of bright sheath dresses, Jessica Tarlov is wearing sneakers. — Wendy Naugle, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026

Both wore Christian Louboutin heels covered in crystals, per WWD, along with body-hugging, ankle-length dresses. — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 8 Sep. 2026

With summer whites One of the easiest ways to wear your white jeans or dresses after Labor Day? — Mayte Salido, Glamour, 8 Sep. 2026

After a series of slouchy suits and bustier dresses in turquoise and scarlet silks, the show exploded to black, culminating in a series of bravado gowns. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

Mario Perez cheered from the curb as dancers in bright dresses twirled down the street Saturday afternoon, ribbons and ruffles flashing in the sun. — Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026

As a longtime employee of Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City, Marissa has seen her fair share of wedding dresses. — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026

If your fall wardrobe could use a refresh, Nordstrom’s Labor Day markdowns extend well beyond dresses. — Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 4 Sep. 2026

Of course, the runways always deliver some showstopping moments, and this season’s statement dresses did not disappoint. — Rosie Jarman, Vogue, 2 Sep. 2026

Verb

Later, CeCe dresses her up in a pink tutu and makes up a dance for her kitten. — Parents, 31 July 2026

Young, who dresses Dakota Johnson, Julianne Moore, and Scarlett Johansson, spotlighted it as an essential for summer travel in her latest Quince curation. — Olivia Cigliano, InStyle, 31 July 2026

Regardless, men behaving in a repulsed or shocked way when a man dresses feminine or in women’s clothing is homophobic. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026

Will’s obsessive, put-upon mother, Susan (Tandi Wright), belittles Alice, dresses her down for her attire at the funeral, and forces her to wear heels that don’t fit, leaving her feet bloody. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 10 July 2026

Dior dresses the players for every official appearance—not as a sponsorship decoration but as a statement of aesthetic register. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 June 2026

While both draw big crowds and, like the pope, Bad Bunny often dresses in white, their messages are contrasting. — Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 10 June 2026

The most famous Colombian fan is Gustavo Llanos, known as El Cole (Birdman), who dresses like a tri-colored bird and has been to every World Cup Colombia participated in since 1990. — Michelle Kaufman may 29, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026

Shadbolt cleverly blitzes a bit of black walnut into a vinaigrette that dresses a spray of watercress on the side, adding an unexpected layer of harmony. — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 17 May 2026